Nov 07, 2024  
2024-2025 University Catalog 
    
2024-2025 University Catalog

General Education: Educational Studies, BA (non-licensure)

Location(s): West Lafayette


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About the Program


The educational studies major is for those interested in a career in the field of education but not necessarily classroom teaching. This major is a non-teaching licensure program that provides a strong background in educational theory, practice and research. Research is conducted and disseminated on varied educational aspects of teaching, learning, and human development through discovery, teaching and engagement activities. Sample signature areas of discovery include:

  • Using assistive technology to support school-based and community-based instruction for students with special needs.
  • Developing effective instructional strategies in mathematics problem solving for students with learning disabilities.
  • Developing identification tools and pedagogical models for underserved gifted and talented populations including students with diverse cultural backgrounds and children who live in poverty.
  • Supporting motivation for and learning of science in young children including children from diverse cultural backgrounds and those living in poverty.
  • Supporting students’ psychological well-being (e.g. coping with death and dying, suicide prevention, multicultural issues, adult attachment).

The General Education: Educational Studies Plan of Study outlines the required courses to complete the degree. For more information about the degree program, visit the COE Office of Advising and Recruiting.

General Education: Educational Studies Major Change (CODO) Requirements   

Degree Requirements


120 Credits Required

Departmental/Program Major Courses (26-27 credits)


Other Departmental/Program Course Requirements (45-46 credits)


Quantitative Reasoning (6 credits)


Choose one sequence below.

English Literature (3 credits)


Choose one.

Note: Movie and film courses are not accepted for the English literature requirement.

Electives (47-49 credits)


GPA Requirements


  • A 2.5 Graduation GPA with a “C” or better in education courses (EDCI, EDPS, and EDST) required.

College of Education Pass/No Pass Option Policy


Education majors (which includes the total credit hour requirement to fulfill General Education: Educational Studies and General Education:  Curriculum & Instruction) are not eligible to receive P/NP for required courses on your plan of study.  Only electives and courses at the 500+ level can have a grade mode change.

Spring 2020 was the only exception approved for the entire campus. 

University Requirements


University Core Requirements


For a complete listing of University Core Course Selectives, visit the University Senate Website.
  • Human Cultures: Behavioral/Social Science (BSS)
  • Human Cultures: Humanities (HUM)
  • Information Literacy (IL)
  • Oral Communication (OC)
  • Quantitative Reasoning (QR)
  • Science #1 (SCI)
  • Science #2 (SCI)
  • Science, Technology, and Society (STS)
  • Written Communication (WC) 

Civics Literacy Proficiency Requirement


The Civics Literacy Proficiency activities are designed to develop civic knowledge of Purdue students in an effort to graduate a more informed citizenry. For more information visit the Civics Literacy Proficiency website.

To obtain the Civics Literacy Proficiency, students will complete an educational activity as part of their chosen Civics Literacy Pathway and pass the Purdue Civics knowledge test.  The knowledge test can be completed at any time while the pathway is being perused.  There are three different pathways:

  • Civics Event pathway - Attend six approved civics-related events and pass the required exam; or
  • Civics Literacy Podcast pathway - Complete 12 podcasts created by the Purdue Center for C-SPAN Scholarship & Engagement that use C-SPAN material and pass the required exam; or
  • Approved course pathway - Complete  one of the following approved courses and pass the required exam.

More details about each pathway and how to complete the requirement can be found on the Civics Literacy Student Dashboard in myPurdue.

Upper Level Requirement


  • Resident study at Purdue University for at least two semesters and the enrollment in and completion of at least 32 semester hours of coursework required and approved for the completion of the degree. These courses are expected to be at least junior-level (30000+) courses.
  • Students should be able to fulfill most, if not all, of these credits within their major requirements; there should be a clear pathway for students to complete any credits not completed within their major.

Additional Information


  • The General Education: Educational Studies major is not a licensure program.

Sample 4-Year Plan


Fall 1st Year


15-16 Credits


Spring 1st Year


15 Credits


Fall 2nd Year


15 Credits


Spring 2nd Year


  • Credits: 1.00 to 3.00
  • Aesthetic Awareness - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Science, Technology & Society - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Elective - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Elective - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Elective - Credit Hours: 2.00

15 Credits


Fall 3rd Year


15 Credits


15 Credits


Fall 4th Year


15 Credits


Spring 4th Year


14-15 Credits


Pre-Requisite Information


For pre-requisite information, log in to mypurdue.purdue.edu and click here.

World Language Courses


World Language proficiency requirements vary by program. The following list is inclusive of all world languages PWL offers for credit; for acceptable languages and proficiency levels, see your advisor. (ASL-American Sign Language; ARAB-Arabic; CHNS-Chinese; FR-French; GER-German; GREK-Greek(Ancient); HEBR-Hebrew(Biblical); HEBR-Hebrew(Modern); ITAL-Italian; JPNS-Japanese; KOR-Korean; LATN-Latin; PTGS=Portuguese; RUSS-Russian; SPAN-Spanish)

Critical Course


The ♦ course is considered critical.

In alignment with the Degree Map Guidance for Indiana’s Public Colleges and Universities, published by the Commission for Higher Education (pursuant to HEA 1348-2013), a Critical Course is identified as “one that a student must be able to pass to persist and succeed in a particular major. Students who want to be nurses, for example, should know that they are expected to be proficient in courses like biology in order to be successful. These would be identified by the institutions for each degree program.”

Disclaimer


The student is ultimately responsible for knowing and completing all degree requirements. Consultation with an advisor may result in an altered plan customized for an individual student. The myPurduePlan powered by DegreeWorks is the knowledge source for specific requirements and completion.

Comparative information about Purdue University and other U.S. educational institutions is also available through the College Navigator tool, provided by the National Center for Education Statistics, and through the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.

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